[Closed] So I cut my lawn...

#Sharpen Blade

Twice weekly and not too short.
Plus what he said ^^^^.

Done mine twice already this year.

Assumed this was a new bike thread 🙁

Thoroughly disappointing lack of expected race track image. *Flounces*

Tried out my new Blaupunkt mower this week, tis awesome but the blade will need regular sharpening regularly. Build quality seems better than my old Bosch which lasted years.

I trimmed my bush.

Sorry to be dull.  It can be a contentious topic at this time of year.   If it livens things up a little, I can tell you I did the edges with hand shears as I forgot to replace the strimmer string that ran out last year.

Did ours for the third time today. Last Friday they got done twice: once to get the top off, then some time to let the undergrowth dry out before dropping the level one notch and doing it again. Today was a further notch down.

I'm stuck ay work for a further four days and my Wife just tole me she did the lawn yesterday. Happy man, lawns are a total distraction from anything worthwhile.

Done mine a couple of times now. Already got the weed and feed down.

Strimmed mine back 3 times already this year.

Won’t get the mower out until after Easter break, if that’s any consolation 🤷‍♂️🌞

I'm away for a few days I'm hoping Stan the gardener will have done it by the time I get home.

I scarified mine at the weekend I cannot describe how satisfying it is. I'm on the lookout for a roller too.

So we can play pétanque.

On my 3rd cut now. Scarified it too after the third cut last week. Already looking better for it. Need to give it a feed soon but know i will just have to cut it more often if i do so holding off for now.

Twice a week? Jesus! Lucky if mine gets done twice a month.

Mine hasn’t been cut since sometime last year, but quite a lot of it is moss, and I’ve got more and more cowslips popping up so I don’t want to chop those off. I’ve even got an Oxslip flowering, but as those seem to be restricted to one place in East Anglia, one is probably a False Oxslip, a cross between a cowslip and a primrose.
It doesn’t grow very much anyway, and any excuse not to have to cut it is one I will happily embrace!
Oxslip...

Oxslip with cowslips for comparison...

I’ve also got snowdrops starting to grow in the ‘lawn’, such as it is.

Twice here too - a gentle trim last weekend and a closer cut yesterday. Paying for it to be fed / weed killed as it has got in a bit of a mess over the last two years.

I parked the car on mine last week. I can think of nothing worse than mowing a lawn. It’s like having to vac the outside of your house only worse.

Did mine over the weekend. Very long and even after the sunshine very damp. Must have emptied th3 grass box once every strip!

Mower is dying, wheels are falling off due to rusty deck etc.
I’ve toyed with a mulching mower. Any good? Got a fair sized garden so needs to be petrol.

I started mulching last year, largely because emptying the box more than doubles the time it takes and is much more of a PITA. Much more likely to mow weekly if it only takes half an hour. 🙂

What's scarifing? And where's good for rollers?

Since moving to a house with a garden two years ago cutting the grass has become one of my favourite jobs and a genuine simple pleasure.

It has only needed one cut this year but I'm buying a new mower this weekend and it will be ready for a second cut.

Once you've done it get some iron sulphate on to it, kills the winter moss, makes the grass greener, slightly acidifies the soil, doesn't accelerate grass growth and is cheap.

Already cut mine. Scarified it all. Then cut it again.

What’s scarifing?

A rotating drum with tines on it that comb through the grass pulling out moss. It is a most satisfying experience.

It is a most satisfying experience.

unless its windy

after killing all the moss last year and getting through 2 boxes of grass seed.

cut it on sunday and it is now moss again.

Sad as it is, I really like cutting my grass. I did mine Sunday evening ready for the rain this week.

My Robot lawnmower has been out for the last month or so. cuts the lawn twice a week while I'm doing other stuff.
I haven't had to cut my lawn for 2 years and I have to say, the lawn has never looked so good 🙂

I need a new lawn mower for about 60m2 of a back lawn and 20m2 at the front. What's good?

What’s scarifing?

A really good workout if you do it by hand. I use to but it took 3 days, so I bought a cheap electric one from screwfix which is awesome!

^^^ I got a cheaperer one from Freecycle. It was a bit faulty (the deadman's switch wasn't working properly) so I just bypassed it with an inline two-pin connector. Health and safety? Nah.

Done mine twice already this year.

You have already equalled how many times I cut ours last year

I fear we have reached peak 2019 early with this thread.

Ace, thanks! * browses Amazon for scarifiers, rollers , iron sulphate and grass food * 🙂

Can someone tell me more about scarifiers. Our lawn is mostly moss after the previous owners didn't look after it for a year or so.

Scarifiers basically scrape away moss and death thatch which is the remains of last year's growth. Doing this, scarifying, is just one thing you need to do if you have lots of moss.

Moss forms when the soil is continually heavily damp and compacted. What you need to do in this instance is use an aerator - basically a set of hollow tubes that lift plugs of soil out of the lawn, brush in sand in to the holes so formed, spread combined moss killer and lawn feed then a couple of weeks later scarify to remove the dead moss.

You can hire aerators - unless you have a huge lawn it's not worth owning one - but if you've a small lawn then you can get the same effect by using a garden fork: stand on fork; wiggle back and forth a couple of times to make a hole then move on a few inches and repeat, another good workout.

The thing about scarifying is getting rid of the moss and thatch afterwards. The stuff is like an IKEA mattress, expands to 5000 times its original size.

Mine has had one long cut a few weeks back, since sharpened the blade and then did it after work on Friday. My word it was satisfying. Did it with a beer in the sunshine, proper rock and roll.

The edging can do one though.

Some of you seem to absolutely adore mowing lawns. Send me a pm and I’ll pick one lucky winner who can spread the joy and come and do my lawn!

I went to give the lawn its first light cut last Saturday afternoon. Put on gloves without checking them and cue three full stabs from a hibernating queen wasp on my little finger. I was admitted to hospital on Sunday afternoon with a forearm and hand which were barely distinguishable from one another. I’ve just been discharged following a short stay with elevated arm and IV antibiotics with additional steroids and antihistamines.

I ‘usually’ check the gloves left in the shed, such was my excitement to mow the lawn I didn’t bother. Wish I had. Lawn still a shaggy mess and now wet again following the rain.

I need a new lawn mower for about 60m2 of a back lawn and 20m2 at the front. What’s good?

48cm self propelled jobby with collector and more importantly, a Honda engine. I went for a shiny red Cobra last year but rarely used it because last summer, the grass didn’t grow much - hence my eagerness to get it going on Saturday.

Like the pics CountZero. I don't like weed killed lawns.

Assumed this was a new bike thread

It still could be...

First mow was during that warm spell in February. I’m currently walking 20+ miles per week whilst cutting grass, that obviously doesn’t include ride-on mower use. I should strava it all

How big is your lawn Houns?

Joking aside I used to do that working for Kirklees council. Fond memories of summers spent trimming hedges and mowing lawns whilst trying to avoid the nutters and mental dogs on the Walpole estate in Huddersfield/

This big

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I’m a gardener/groundsperson at two large estates, one private and one NT. I’m also a volunteer gardener at another National Trust property, and look after my Nans sizeable garden

That sounds great. I do miss it, even when the weather is crap. That looks beautiful. Is it one of the estates or your Gran’s house? 😉

Ha! Not quite, she’s about 4 miles East (to the right of that pic) of the one above.

Yeah it beats sitting in an office! Got sunburnt last week, avoided the rain today by chopping wood indoors (an old boiler house)

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What is the official STW method of sharpening your blade?

Grinding stone on a drill, quick and highly effective. Three most common mistakes of (non) lawn care:

1) Using a blunt blade
2) Cutting very closely/short
3) Not cutting often enough - twice a week when growing

yes 1 and yes 2

However I've had to overseed some thin patches which died in the hot weather last year (weather plus a goalmouth) and the seed is only just germinating. Do I try and mow round, cut long so it doesn't cut the new growth (being a rotary blade it'll probably blow all the seed all over), or just leave until it's established in 3-4 weeks time?

For such circumstances I have an approach that works for me. After preparing the ground I make lots and lots of holes with a fork about 1ish cm deep, brush/drop grass seed into them then brush some top soil on top. Water well and avoid as best as you can. Within a while the seeds will germinate and do the bizz. Looks like a hair transplant for lawns but is highly effective.

I like lawns.

Not mown front or back yet, don't intend to...stuff lives in it quite happily.

yep, forked and roughed up the soil in the barer patches rather than just laid on top, but didn't top soil it. It's only just started ti germinate, worth a quick sift, I think I have a bag or two of screened left over from where I reseeded the front a while ago.

Hopefully this shows what I mean..

Have to say last year's hot summer did for my lawn and the moss this spring is the worst I can remember. Anyway it's had a few cuts so far this year and I got some feed and weed on it on Monday evening before this rainy patch. My strategy this year is to not cut the lawn so short, especially if we get another long hot spell.

In the front garden this year the look I’m going for combines elements of broken trampoline, rubble sacks waiting to go to the tip, and an old toilet.
The misses loves it.

I need a new lawn mower for about 60m2 of a back lawn and 20m2 at the front. What’s good?

Man quotes lawn size, possibly expecting a few "how do you manage a lawn so big" comments, but really for a lawn that size anything where you don't have to empty the box too often is the only thing you're looking for, a small petrol by Mountfield will be more than sufficient and will last a life time when serviced correctly.

I use a bigger version for cutting some of the lawns round here (for bike cash) in the summer, some of them are frankly massive for normal residential lawns, I've clocked one at just over 4km of walking while cutting with a 19" Mountfield.

One cut long so far, but it's not really growing fast yet now it's cooled down again. Feels too early to feed/weed/scarify. Prefer to do that when the soil's warmed a bit and the grass plants are nice and strong to recover. Sad I know but I find it a relaxing 45 min and like the look once done. It's not comparable to a decent blast on the bike though.

a small petrol by Mountfield will be more than sufficient and will last a life time when serviced correctly.

I have a lawn I need to start looking after, are the mountfields the petrol mower to go for? I was looking at the Honda Isy series.